Canucks owner wants Hornets in Vancouver (Globe and Mail)

Francesco Aquilini, whose family owns the Canucks of the NHL, is interested in buying the New Orleans Hornets and moving the franchise to Vancouver, The Globe and Mail reported Wednesday.

Aquilini, who was not involved in the ownership of the Vancouver Grizzlies, would need partners to help finance the purchase, the report said. But NBA Commissioner David Stern said this week during Bill Simmons’ podcast on ESPN that Vancouver is among the cities to which he would consider allowing a franchise to move.

“We’ve had visits from, believe it or not, Vancouver, where the Canucks are absolutely doing a spectacular job,” Stern told ESPN.

He said Seattle remains “a very prime city” for the NBA, but it must first come up with a suitable arena.

Stern said Kansas City, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, the Tampa Bay area and Anaheim are cities with serviceable arenas that could host NBA teams in the future.

“But our goal here is to keep all of our teams where they are,” Stern said, “but recognizing that that hasn’t been a goal that we have successfully achieved in the past.”

The NBA purchased the Hornets last year and is seeking a new owner. Stern continues to say publicly that he wants the franchise to stay in New Orleans but that a priority will be put on strong ownership. The league reportedly rebuffed attempts by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison to buy the team and relocate it to HP Pavilion in San Jose, the home of the NHL’s Sharks.

“There’s no shortage of suitors who have contacted us who want to buy the team and take it someplace else,” Stern said. “That would not be our first choice at all.”

Aquilini bought 50 percent of the Canucks during the 2004-05 lockout and purchased the rest of the franchise in 2007 from John McCaw. With a possible work stoppage looming for the NBA, Aquilini might be considering a similar strategy for acquiring the Hornets.

In the past, Aquilini has expressed interest in relocating the Portland Trail Blazers and Indiana Pacers.